When is a formal writing style important?
The vast majority of written assignments you complete for school will require you to use a more formal style. The exception to this rule is creative writing (stories, poems, plays) that you may do for English class or Drama class.
Why is it important to use a formal writing style?
The major purpose of school assignments is to help teachers identify how much material you have learned and how well you understand that material. Formal writing is more precise and easier to understand, so it is easier to assess for marking purposes.
One of the reasons formal writing is easier to understand is because it is free of things like slang and abbreviations. Popular slang changes over time and can vary by location, so if you use it in your writing, it may confuse any reader who comes from a different background than yours. Abbreviations are not always consistent, which can create confusion as well. For example, if you were to use the abbreviation ‘b.c.’ in your essay, your reader might wonder if it is short for ‘because’ or ‘British Columbia’ or a period in history that came before the birth of Christ. Being formal helps you avoid these potential areas of confusion.
One of the reasons formal writing is easier to understand is because it is free of things like slang and abbreviations. Popular slang changes over time and can vary by location, so if you use it in your writing, it may confuse any reader who comes from a different background than yours. Abbreviations are not always consistent, which can create confusion as well. For example, if you were to use the abbreviation ‘b.c.’ in your essay, your reader might wonder if it is short for ‘because’ or ‘British Columbia’ or a period in history that came before the birth of Christ. Being formal helps you avoid these potential areas of confusion.
How do I keep my writing formal?
- Be specific: Avoid imprecise phrases (e.g. a lot, a bit, etc., back in the day). Give exact amounts and specific details instead (e.g. 75%, less than two days, on August 3, 1942).
- Remain impersonal: Avoid using a lot of personal pronouns (you/me/I) in your writing because they imply that your work is based on a bunch of unverifiable personal opinions rather than proper research and factual information. Personal opinions are suitable in some formal written assignments (e.g. a movie review or book report), but most research papers and other types of assignments should be more impersonal.
- Avoid sarcasm and jokes: It is difficult to use humour effectively in a formal assignment because the sarcastic or joking tone is more difficult to convey in writing than in speech. Humour is also inappropriate for the serious subject matter that is often the focus of school assignments (e.g. most people don’t like to joke about animals going extinct or millions of people dying in an epidemic).
- Do not take short cuts: For clarity, you want to avoid contractions (e.g. can’t, should’ve) and abbreviations (e.g. Nov., cuz) because they can be potentially confusing if the reader is unfamiliar with what your term is short for. Taking short cuts in your writing also seems less professional because it gives the impression that you were unwilling to take the time to do the job thoroughly.
- Do not use slang: Because slang is not something that is universally understood, it is best to avoid it for clarity’s sake. You also want to avoid it because it can make you seem unprofessional: it is the writing equivalent of showing up to a job interview wearing a ripped pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt with a mustard stain on the front.
A helpful comparison
Compare these two paragraphs (written on the same topic) to see the difference that formality makes when it comes to creating a piece of writing that is both impressive and easy to understand.
Version 1
Back in the day, women didn’t have a lot of rights cuz men were all thinking that they were superior. I think it all changed in WWII when chicks started to work in factories and do what men did before the war. They could’ve just stayed in their old roles cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids, etc., but instead they helped the war effort by doing all the stuff that men couldn’t do bc they were fighting. It was them that won the war.
Version 2
During the first half of the twentieth century, women were seen as inferior to men. This view of women began to change during World War II when women began to work in factories and demonstrate that they were capable of doing the same jobs that men had done before the war. Women could have chosen their traditional roles of cooking, cleaning and caring for children, but instead they chose to help the war effort by taking on traditionally male work and freeing men up for fighting. Without these pioneering women, the war may have been lost.
Back in the day, women didn’t have a lot of rights cuz men were all thinking that they were superior. I think it all changed in WWII when chicks started to work in factories and do what men did before the war. They could’ve just stayed in their old roles cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids, etc., but instead they helped the war effort by doing all the stuff that men couldn’t do bc they were fighting. It was them that won the war.
Version 2
During the first half of the twentieth century, women were seen as inferior to men. This view of women began to change during World War II when women began to work in factories and demonstrate that they were capable of doing the same jobs that men had done before the war. Women could have chosen their traditional roles of cooking, cleaning and caring for children, but instead they chose to help the war effort by taking on traditionally male work and freeing men up for fighting. Without these pioneering women, the war may have been lost.
